Karnataka Sangita, Bharatanatya, Kalaripayattu, Drawing, Painting, Handwork (Knitting, Crochet, Stitching, Sewing), Woodwork, Claywork, Theatre.

Ayurveda, Krishi, Kreeda, Cooking

Building the Pillars

At this stage, children begin formal education, laying the groundwork for lifelong learning. The foundations of languages and basic arithmetic are introduced, supporting both cognitive and creative development.

Key Features:

• Formal Education Begins: Academic subjects are introduced through stories, songs, and hands-on activities.

• Language Foundations: Introduction to Kannada, Samskrita, and English—building conversational, reading, and writing skills.

• Basic Arithmetic: Early mathematical concepts are taught in ways that connect to daily life.

• Holistic Activities: Children start learning Karnataka Sangita, Bharatanatya, Krishi & Handwork.

Expanding Horizons

Children in the Gopura group are ready to explore more complex subjects and experiences. The curriculum broadens to include deeper academic content, projects, and real-world applications, fostering independence and critical thinking.

Key Features:

• Advanced Language Skills: Continued development in Kannada, Samskrita, and English, with increased emphasis on comprehension and expression.

• Mathematics and Sciences: Introduction to more advanced concepts, problem-solving, and scientific inquiry—starting with observation and moving to theory.

• Social Sciences: Exploration of history, geography, and civics, beginning with family and local history and expanding to broader contexts.

• Projects : Hands-on projects and research to develop real-world skills and understanding.

• Aesthetics and Kala: Karnataka Sangita, Bharatanatya, Kalaripayattu, Drawing, Painting, Handwork, Woodwork, Claywork, and Theater.

• Aarogya (Health): Ayurveda, Krishi, Kreeda and experiential learning through monthly farm trips to Gauribidanur (for children above 9 years).

• Life Skills and Independence: Emphasis on self-reliance, managing resources, and community engagement.

Deepening Interests and Building Portfolios

Children begin to delve deeper into their areas of interest, choosing to pursue some subjects while letting go of others.

• Personalized learning: Children select subjects aligned with their interests.

• Projects and internships: Real-world experiences and portfolio building.

• Preparation for NIOS: Guidance and support for Secondary course examinations (10th grade) through NIOS.

• Darshana is a year-long transition programme after Grade 10 that helps young people engage with the real world while understanding themselves more deeply.
• Through hands-on projects, time with mentors, exploration of different fields, and work in areas of personal interest, they discover their strengths and inclinations.
• Throughout the journey, Dhrishti helps them question influences, assumptions and narratives with greater awareness.
• Along the way, they build a meaningful portfolio of experiences, skills and reflections that captures their evolving sense of direction.

If we are able to

• find the innate inclination of a child (Vritti) and support the child to pursue it, then there is a possibility of the child living a purposeful life
• provide an environment where the child is allowed to explore, make mistakes and grow as free and fearless individuals, then there is a possibility of creating better citizens who will add value to the society and country
• build a foundation of a strong value system that is culturally grounded, then there is a possibility of having good human beings who live with mutual respect in the world
• create an ecosystem of living in harmony with nature, then there is a possibility of creating a sustainable community which understands the laws of nature and lives by its principles

Designing and creating this system requires

• right people coming together
• support of knowledgeable and learned mentors
• parents who are willing to take this pioneering path with their children
• teachers who are willing to learn and create a new path

Along with this comes the need to research, physical infrastructure and money to support the cause.

Udhbhavaha (an initiative of Vidyakshetra Trust) is a not-for-profit organization. For us at Udhbhavaha, it is not a 9-5 job! It is part of our life’s journey and this is what we want to do for life. The set of parents we currently have are the ones who have dared to take this step of deciding to walk this journey with us as they feel this is the right way to educate a child. It is clear that we need an alternative for the current/contemporary education system and we have decided to take this step!

The design of every aspect of the organization should align with the values and principles it stands for. Hence the financial model at Udhbhavaha is designed to build a mindset of co-existence and inclusivity.

• We operate on a contribution based model.
• Our operational budget is shared with parents.
• Each family in Udhbhavaha community contributes towards operational expenses.
• Fund raising to meet the deficit is taken as collective responsibility.
• We make Udhbhavaha accessible to all parents, irrespective of their financial status.
• Our intent is to move away from a consumer-vendor relationship in the field of education.

To achieve the desired outcome, we intend to remain a small community and possibly grow up to 150 children in its peak. We see that it is not always possible for families to completely finance the needs of Udhbhavaha, taking all costs into account. This creates a shortfall between the in-flow and expenses. Sustenance of such educational endeavors is only possible, when society at large, support.

In many parts of the world, all not-for-profit educational institutions receive external support for their capital expenses. Till we establish this model and visibility increases, we would need financial assistance from the society to sustain this experiment.

In the last 10 years, parents part of the community and well-wishers in the society have sustained this cause and this is a lead in the direction that this model will work. It would be our continued efforts to reach out to the society to support and in the process induce a thought process that has been native to this land for long. In India (pre-colonial era), education, food, and medicine were never sold. The society at large supported the education setups. This approach had run for ages. Today, we are all witness to the perils in these fields as they have turned into a business. One of our objectives is also to inspire society to think differently.

An initiative like this which is creating a framework for a new thought process requires time and dedicated efforts. We intend to keep the community small and plan to grow to 150 children in about 3 to 5 years.

• As Parents who are inspired by this thought process and are looking for holistic education for their children
• As Teachers who see this as their life’s journey
• As Volunteers who are willing to take up different roles
• As Research assistants who can help us in our research in various subjects and also in documenting our learnings.
• As benevolent donors who support the cause affirming the fact that it is the duty of the society at large to support such initiatives. You could also help by connecting us to your network of prospective donors. We would be more than happy to come and present our journey.

First of all, we believe that it is part of our duty to spread this message and thought process in society. Its time all of us awaken to certain realities. By being part of our cause, you are becoming one link in this chain to bring about a change in society. Your contributions are going towards building the future of this nation. You become part of this community of like-minded individuals who are working towards a better tomorrow. You will find meaning and purpose in supporting us to sustain such an initiative.

We are very grateful to our donors, however, we do not believe in publicising the donations. As a donor, you are welcome to visit our campus, volunteer, help in research, be part of our community festival celebrations or be associated with us in your best capacities.

For a more tangible benefit, you can claim an 80G tax exemption on the donations made.

With so much dependency on an external system and lack of faith in self, insecurity is looming large with the current youth. In any case, the existing system is failing in this task, we have to look for alternatives. When children learn holistically, work with their hands and nourish their feeling realm, we believe that children grow to be more grounded and self-confident. It is different and new but not isolated. It is created to address the needs of the current society. Children will be exposed to real-world situations through Livelihood experiences like farming, travels, project-based learning, learning from people of different walks of life. We feel that these are the children who will be able to better deal with the current world.

There are several dimensions that we need to look at here.

First of all, we have to understand who is a Hindu and what is the meaning of Hinduism.

Hindu is a geographical identity given to us by outsiders who came to this country thousands of years ago. People living in the landmass that lies between the Himalayas and the Indu Saagara (Indian Ocean) were referred to as Hindus. And the outsiders noticed that there are certain common practices and traits among these people, across the length and breadth of this large country. Men and women wearing unstitched cloth, walking barefoot, sitting on the floor, fasting on particular days of the month, celebrating the same festivals, and so on. This is part of the culture of this country and it is known as Bharathiyata. Bharathiyata is not just about our external appearance, it is also about the way we look at life and living. Concepts of punarjanma, karma, dharma, Mukti, and embracing uncertainty guide us through life. At Udhbhavaha, children get to see Bharathiyata in action, experience the richness of this culture, and imbibe its timeless values. 

Since we practice Bharathiyata, it does not mean we are against other cultures and/ or religions. Udhbhavaha is not affiliated with any religious institution or any political party.